mixing in LE after tracking in TDM, quality loss?

[djc8902]

I have a very important project I'm currently working on that was tracked on a mix plus system in pro tools 5.1. However, in order to get the mixes started and finished faster I may have to move the project to a studio who only has a digi 001 and pro tools LE. Will this affect the sound of things at all? In what way will it alter the final mixes? Everything is in 24 bit/48 K in TDM and will stay that way until it goes to mastering at a professional facitlity. I realize I'll loose some plug ins but time is a bigger issue at the moment so if I can pull this off without any major loss in quality or space then thats not a big deal. I just don't understand the math of it all. Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.

[Seeee]

it should work fine. it has been argued in the past that the LE mix bus is better. at least in 5.1 anyways. has something to do with the floating point calculations that LE uses.

[mixer]

i have done it in both directions..works fine. GARY M.VANDY AUDIO PRODUCTIONS

[len branville]

Your digital to analog conversion will not be as good in LE compared to TDM.
Also, due to floating point math in LE, you can have more headroom (as touched on) -so if you get your mix to "hot" in LE it could be possible to clip the mix buss if you bring it back later into TDM.
Just a couple of small issues to think about..

len

[djc8902]

So you're saying I'll have MORE headroom in LE than in TDM? Thats actually great! The mixes won't be converting to analog at any point in LE or TDM because I'm sending the 24 bit/48 K WAV files of my mixes to a professional mastering engineer to put the finishing touches on. Another concern is that some say when you go into LE you loose some "space" in your mixes. Like everything starts to sound a little less open. I guess that really doesnt make much sense at all and it may not apply since all the tracking was dome outside LE anyway. Thanks everyone for your help, much appreciated.

[len branville]

Quote:
"So you're saying I'll have MORE headroom in LE than in TDM"?

Generally -a very big and vague "generally", yes, but it also depends on what plug-ins your using and how your using them while your mixing.
In terms of floating point math versus fixed point for TDM -yes floating point does allow for slightly more headroom in it's processing of audio (there's an explanation of this in Digidesign's Answerbase) but again you have to take into consideration any plug-ins -and/or the way an individual mixs.
Leaving plenty of headroom for the mastering and/or mix engineer is always good idea (especially the final mix).
Regarding the quality of conversion.. I was referring to the difference in qualtiy WHILE you mix and any degradation (or lack thereof) that you could experience while monitoring in LE (unless your using high quality conversion, in and out of LE, while your monitoring and doing your mix(ing).

It's very subjective on any loss of "space" when going from TDM to LE. If anything, I've experienced (or my little ears have heard) MORE in TDM in terms of how much work my mix and/or masters really need.
I think TDM "speaks" the truth a little cleaner and clearer on what's really going on in my mix than LE..if that makes any sense.
I have both an LE and an Accel 2 system, and they both work great for everything I throw at 'em..but my ears just pricked up when I seen a healthy conversation comparing/contrasting the two.
Just my take (and two cents) on the subject, and what your doing is just fine and will work out just great..have done it many times myself.
Enjoy,
len 651-308-3877

[danickstr]

if you have access to a rosetta 200 or something along that line, you could monitor via lightpipe through said item to have a better feel of your actual analog progress.